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Team Asobi

Team Asobi is a Japanese video game developer based in Tokyo. A first-party studio for Sony Interactive Entertainment, Team Asobi was originally formed in 2012 as part of Japan Studio, but formally spun off into an independent studio within Sony's PlayStation Studios in April 2021. It is best known for the Astro Bot series.

History

Team Asobi was first formed in 2012 as an internal part of Japan Studio based in Tokyo by Nicolas Doucet.[2] The team's name is derived from the Japanese word "Asobi", meaning "Play". After forming, they worked on technical demos and went on to develop The Playroom (2013), a pre-downloaded augmented reality game designed to demonstrate the use of the PlayStation Camera and DualShock 4 for the PlayStation 4. Doucet and several members of his team had been developers for games for the EyeToy and had brought their knowledge forward for use on The Playroom. Team Asobi also created a virtual reality version The Playroom VR to demonstrate the PlayStation VR unit with its release in 2016.[3] The Playroom introduced a small robotic character, then named "A5081" which visually resembles the word "ASOBI",[4] and became the reference for the Astro Bot character used in their later games, Astro Bot Rescue Mission (2018), Astro's Playroom (2020), and the winner of Game of the Year at The Game Awards 2024 and the 28th Annual D.I.C.E. Awards, Astro Bot (2024).[5]

Across late 2020 and early 2021, several staff members of Japan Studio, outside those of Team Asobi, announced their departure; Sony later affirmed that by April 2021, Japan Studio would be refocused around Team Asobi based on the success of Astro's Playroom.[6] In June 2021, Sony announced that Team Asobi had been transitioned to a standalone studio within PlayStation Studios. Doucet remains Asobi's studio director and creative director following this transition. Since January 6, 2025, Astro Bot has become the most awarded platformer game of all time, beating out It Takes Two with a current total of 106 Game of the Year nominations and wins.[7]

Games developed

External links

References

  1. ‘We fill a gap for PlayStation Studios’ – Behind the scenes at Astro Bot’s Team Asobi Video Game Chronicle, Sony Interactive Entertainment, 5 September 2024, retrieved 5 September 2024^
  2. Ishaan Sahdev. Astro Bot Director Is Now Head Of Sony's Japan Studio Siliconera, 3 February 2020, retrieved 4 June 2021^
  3. Nicolas Doucet. 25 Adorable Facts About The Playroom VR PlayStation Blog, 30 September 2016, retrieved 4 June 2021^
  4. Michael McWhertor. The PlayRoom for PS4 unlocks the fun and future of the DualShock 4 Polygon, 14 June 2013, retrieved 4 June 2021^
  5. Christopher Byrd. 'Astro Bot Rescue Mission' rekindles the fun of gaming for even the most jaded The Washington Post, 11 October 2018, retrieved 4 June 2021^
  6. Matt Kim. PlayStation Confirms Japan Studio Will be Re-Organized IGN, 25 February 2021, retrieved 25 February 2021^
  7. Viraaj Bhatnagar. Astro Bot Reaches Unbelievable Milestone Game Rant, January 6, 2025, retrieved March 9, 2025^
  8. Taylor Lyles. New Astro Bot Game Revealed - State of Play 2024 IGN, 2024-05-30, retrieved 2024-05-30^
  9. Wesley LeBlanc. Team Asobi Officially Announced as a PlayStation Studio, Reveals New Logo IGN, 3 June 2021, retrieved 4 June 2021^
  10. Wesley Yin-Poole. Sony growing Astro's PlayRoom developer Team Asobi Eurogamer, 3 June 2021, retrieved 4 June 2021^
  11. Nicolas Doucet. Introducing Team Asobi, creators of the Astro Bot series PlayStation.Blog, Sony Interactive Entertainment, 2 June 2021, retrieved 4 June 2021^
  12. Sammy Barker, Stephen Tailby. PlayStation Studios: All Sony First-Party Developers and What They're Working On Push Square, 3 June 2021, retrieved 4 June 2021^
  13. Jose Otero. Reminder: Playroom Will Be Pre-Installed on Every PlayStation 4 IGN, 20 August 2013, retrieved 4 June 2021^